Sen. John Wightman proposed a bill that would allow a personal representative of someone’s estate to terminate their loved one’s online accounts.

Estate Planning Attorney Andrew Loudon said he has seen family members retrieve passwords in the past.

“Last year, an individual client of mine in early her 60s passed away. She was estranged from her husband, who guessed correctly at her Facebook account password and posted inappropriate items on her wall that indicated she was still alive,” Loudon said.

Online companies like Facebook and eBay oppose part of the legislation. Steve DelBianco with NetChoice, who represents the companies’ interests, said the national commission is in the middle of drafting legislation that every state could adopt, using the same terms and principles. The legislation would account for policies and procedures online companies already have in place.

“We're actually only asking that you hold this bill until the Uniform Law Commission finishes its work,” DelBianco said.

Legislature now has to decide whether to move forward or wait for a national legislation.

Wightman introduced a similar type of legislation last year, but it never advanced out of committee.

Comments

The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use. KETV NewsWatch 7 offers readers the ability to comment on stories with the understanding that these comments may be reprinted elsewhere on the site or used on KETV NewsWatch 7 newscasts. We ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, comments that don't relate to the story and any personal remarks. THIS IS IMPORTANT: KETV NewsWatch 7 does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not, at times, find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in this area. If you find a comment that is objectionable or offensive, click the flag that appears in the upper right corner when you hover over a comment. Flagged comments may be automatically hidden from comment threads. For comments to appear on the website and/or the mobile app, email addresses must be verified through Disqus. We ask the community to monitor this forum with the knowledge that KETV NewsWatch 7 does not regularly monitor these comments.